Miami Dolphins coaches reportedly instructed Richie Incognito to "toughen up" teammate Jonathan Martin after an incident last spring. Although Incognito allegedly took it too far with threatening and racial messages, the offensive lineman was initially acting on orders from the coaching staff, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.
Alleged excerpts of Incognito's racially-charged, vulgar text messages and voicemails leaked on Monday. A report on Tuesday by Sun Sentinel's Omar Kelly may provide context for why Incognito began harassing Martin in the first place.
"Miami Dolphins coaches asked player Richie Incognito, who was the offensive line's undisputed leader, to toughen up teammate Jonathan Martin after he missed a voluntary workout last spring, multiple sources told the Sun Sentinel," Kelly wrote.
"The sources told the paper they believe that Incognito, who is accused of using racially incendiary language and bullying tactics against Martin, may have taken those orders too far. ...
"Sources say that communications took place when Martin skipped two days of the team's OTA program, and Incognito was encouraged by his coaches to make a call that would 'get him into the fold,' once source said."
Martin, a 2012 draft pick out of Stanford, was allegedly bullied and harassed since his rookie season. Martin took an indefinite leave of absence from the team on Oct. 28 after being the target of a cafeteria prank by fellow offensive linemen.
The NFL is investigating the matter.
Incognito, who was suspended by the Dolphins on Sunday, told WSVN-TV that he's just "weathering the storm" and believes this will pass.
While nobody has condoned Incognito's alleged harassment, several have suggested Martin shouldn't have aired the team's dirty laundry and should've confronted Incognito if there was a problem.
"Richie Incognito, is he wrong? Absolutely," Giants safety Antrel Rolle told WFAN radio on Tuesday, via the New York Daily News. "But I think the other guy is just as much to blame because he's allowed it to happen.
"You know, at this level, you're a man. You're not a little boy. You're not a freshman in college. So I think everything has its limits. Hopefully he's able to bounce back and recover from all that has happened and understand it, and take awareness of, you know, that you're a grown-ass man. You need to stand up for yourself."
Rolle later posted on Twitter that he didn't intend to imply Martin was equally to blame for the harassment.
